


A Heartbeat at My Feet

by ACatWhoWrites



Category: EXO (Band), K-pop
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Animals, Alternate Universe - Cats, Alternate Universe - Different First Meeting, Alternate Universe - Dogs, Alternate Universe - Neighbors, Chanyeol's a dog, Gen, Joonmyun can't afford child support, Kai's a cat, Reflection0112, good thing he's fixed, or there would be many baby Kais running around
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-05-22
Updated: 2018-05-22
Packaged: 2019-05-04 17:55:03
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,129
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14598519
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ACatWhoWrites/pseuds/ACatWhoWrites
Summary: Joonmyun assumes his cat meanders the neighborhood during the night, but a text from a neighbor reveals that the cat is actually quite close to home.





	A Heartbeat at My Feet

Moving is hard enough with just himself, but Joonmyun finds a reasonably priced house to rent in a nice suburban area near his university and deems it too big for just himself. His things spread out to fill it, but piles of mismatched socks and books without shelves to sit neatly on aren't much for company.

Joonmyun grew up with a dog but doesn’t want to adopt another one because of his busy schedule, but he's never been against other animals. He's just never had anything but dogs.

Browsing online listings at local shelters, a little depressed after seeing all of the cute dogs he's told himself he shouldn't have, he looks at rodents like rats and gerbils, even some rabbits, although he doesn’t want to take the time to learn just to find they’re more involved than he thought.

Cats are the next best option, and at the bottom of the second page of available felines, he spots a sleek black cat:

“I’m Kai, a two-year-old boy who loves to play and cuddle. Unlike most of my cousins, I love to swim and often play in my water dish. My last home gave me up after having to move, and I discovered that I do not like car rides.”

The timestamp on the post is over a month ago. Joonmyun has heard that black cats are the least popular, but he thinks Kai looks perfect.

With nothing better to do—that he wants to do, anyway—he puts the shelter address into his phone and goes for a drive.

Immediately upon entering the shelter, he’s struck with the smell. A harried young woman smiles at him, arms filled with a trio of struggling kittens. “I’ll be right with you!”

“Take your time.” Joonmyun browses the cages, carefully stepping around wandering cats. There are all sizes and colors, long and short-haired, tails and bobs. He makes his way to a cat tree situated perfectly alongside a window, where the sun shines directly on one of the platforms and highlights a perfectly black cat to shades of brown.

“Hello, there.” Cautiously, he touches the sleeping cat’s back, and it’s like some magic when it uncurls from itself and stretches all four legs and each toe, arching its tail and back with something like a whine. Copper eyes slowly blink at him, and the cat yawns, whiskers rigid. It stands and nudges his hand, evidently wanting to be pet.

With the kittens wrangled, the shelter employee quietly waits to the side. “This is Kai. He’s actually a purebred Bombay, so we were shocked when he was surrendered with his papers and everything. Unfortunately, most people who come just see an ordinary black cat that just wants to sleep all the time.” She half-smiles and shrugs. “I’d take him home myself, but I think my girls would pick on him, being the queens of the castle.” She nuzzles his nose with a fingertip. “I’m sure he’d be much happier with his own castle.”

“What do you think, Kai? Want to share a castle with me?” Joonmyun pulls his lips between his teeth when the sleepy cat stretches his neck to sniff his mouth, but he just drags his cheek along Joonmyun’s chin with another throaty purr.

“He likes you,” she says with another smile. “That’s good. If you’re serious, we get to the hard part: We do not allow same-day adoptions. However, with your application and information all in order, we will check it over, make some calls, and you should have him home within the week.”

Joonmyun’s chest twinges a little. He has the perfect cat in his arms, practically asleep against his shoulder, and he has to leave him again. “Alright. We’ve waited this long, right, Kai?”

Waiting those next few days is somewhat torturous, but Joonmyun spends his time after work preparing for his new roommate, buying necessary scratching posts and platforms and little bowls and nutritious food—three varieties, in case Kai has a preference.

The big day finally arrives, and Joonmyun introduces the cat to his new home with a view from within a borrowed carrier. “Here is your castle, little prince. You can have full run of it, but let me show you the more important parts, then you can explore on your own…”

Kai takes the tour in stride, following along politely but immediately claiming a spot in the sunbeam slanting through the front window. It turns out to be his favorite spot, after the middle of Joonmyun's bed. The only time the cat uses his own bed, a cozy cave made of fleece and cushioning, it when the vacuum is out, but it's rare, so the cat bed sits as a decoration more than anything else.

Joonmyun buys a flea and tick collar right away, allowing Kai outside when he shows an interest. The vet said it was okay, and Joonmyun would rather Kai claw the trees outside than his furniture inside.

Every morning , Kai appears at Joonmyun's window, pawing at the glass and begging to be let in. 

“Late night, Kai?” Joonmyun asks. The cat rubs his cheeks gratefully against Joonmyun's chest. “At least one of one of us has a social life,” he sighs. He carefully avoids looking into his office; the stacks of papers to be graded always mock him with their height.

As much as he enjoys teaching, he can’t say the same about grading or writing tests. Since bringing Kai home, it’s been increasingly difficult to work at home, period. Kai has a habit of inviting himself onto Joonmyun’s lap or desk and sprawling out, showing off his soft belly.

And Joonmyun is but a man, weak to such temptations.

When Kai goes to wherever it is cats go at night, Joonmyun has every intention of working, but Kai’s absence and the noticeable quiet unsettles him so much that he turns on the TV, which shortly makes him sleepy.

Lifting the cat beneath the armpits, Joonmyun cradles him to his chest and kisses his head. “Sometimes you worry me, Kai. Disappearing for hours. Hot date with the girlfriend?”

Kai licks his feline lips and yawns widely, showing off perfect white teeth.

“That’s what I thought, you little devil. Good thing you’re neutered. I make enough to support the two of us; I cannot afford child support.” Kai purrs, paws kneading the air. He doesn’t mind being manhandled to his human’s shoulder, where he goes comfortably limp while Joonmyun prepares himself breakfast before work. Often, he’ll offer tastes of meat or eggs while pouring himself coffee, but today Kai is too sleepy to eat and simply sleeps through breakfast, tail working back and forth like a pendulum. Joonmyun still thinks his wheezy little snores are adorable.

Too soon, it’s time for Joonmyun to leave for the university. Kai grumbles when set down, immediately jumping to the floor to follow Joonmyun and beg to be held again. By holding the cat back with a foot, Joonmyun's able to slip out the door. He can hear Kai cry and quickly leaves the door; if he stays too long, his guilt will overwhelm his need to get to work.

Outside, Joonmyun sees the mailman on his morning route and waves as he gets into his car. One of his neighbors’ dogs, a large Golden Retriever, hurries to his feet with ears forward and wags his tail eagerly as Joonmyun drives by. He seems to be a good dog, not too vocal but plenty energetic and jumpy. Too big for Joonmyun to consider living with. Maltese are his limit.

He's seen his neighbor from a distance but never actually met him until a couple weeks or so after bringing Kai home.

Joonmyun is watering some flowers his mother planted when he hears excited barks and looks over his shoulder to see the Golden Retriever leading its human by a leash, sniffing at every tree and fence and crack in the sidewalk. There's a pure, innocent joy in the Retriever's excitement.

Feeling somewhat productive after watering all of his plants, Joonmyun drops to a squat and starts pulling at the weeds that are starting to pop up. He tells himself it's not an excuse to not grade papers; the front of the house just looks nicer having neat flower beds.

Suddenly, there's a cold nose against his lower back. It's gone just as suddenly, and Joonmyun almost falls over trying to get to his feet. He barely manages to keep himself from landing on some kind of succulent and stands upright, face only lightly pink.

 _Oh, he's handsome._ About his height, fit, and probably around Joonmyun's age, his neighbor is his type at first glance. He even has large, round eyes that aren't always considered attractive in men but Joonmyun finds cute.

“I am _so sorry_ about him. I promise he’s friendly.” His neighbor holds the dog by his harness as he struggles to sniff at Joonmyun. “Too friendly... Don't you dare jump on him, Chanyeol, or this will be a very short walk.” Chanyeol seems to understand his human's tone and settles down, tail waving slowly. Carefully easing up his hold, the man offers a hand to Joonmyun. “Do Kyungsoo. I don't think we've met.”

“Kim Joonmyun. Nice to meet you.” Joonmyun scratches the Golden’s ear once he’s sitting—directly on Joonmyun’s feet. “A bit too friendly can be dangerous, though, Chanyeol,” he lectures lightly.

“Please teach him that. He won’t listen to me.” Something thumps against the front window, and Kyungsoo looks from his dog to the beautiful black cat pacing the windowsill and meowing.

“What a pretty cat.” He holds his dog back from jumping up to greet the cat.

“Thank you. That’s Kai, a Bombay. He’s the needy king of the castle.”

“I can’t say Chanyeol is much better, honestly. He has separation anxiety.” Chanyeol switches sides to sit on his owner’s feet, staring at the cat stretching on the glass. Joonmyun waves a hand at him.

“ _Kai!_ Stop climbing on my window! Down!” Joonmyun sprays beneath the window, and the cat sits, drawing either cheek across the glass in apology. “I promise I take good care of him, but his nails could probably cut that glass; he hates nail trims. It's the only time he doesn't like being with me, otherwise I can’t even get the mail without him crying, and he has a big voice for something so small.”

“Is he allowed outside?”

“At night, yes. I try to keep him in as much as possible when people are out with their dogs or driving more. I just don’t know how he’d be with other animals. He is chipped, but I'm waiting on an ID tag in the mail. Then he'll have a regular collar, too. 

“It’s just that when he goes out, he is out _all_ night. I have no idea what he’s doing.”

“He’s probably in a gang.” At Joonmyun's expression, he adds, “Haven’t you seen The Secret Life of Pets?”

“Somehow, I can't imagine my cat beating up anyone, unless he loved on them too hard or annoyed them to death.”

“The true duality of a cat.” Kyungsoo whistles, and Chanyeol's ears stand up. “Let's get going, Chanyeol. You need to pee on the rest of the trees, or I'll not hear the end of it later. It was nice meeting you.” He smiles at Joonmyun, looking young and surprisingly boyish.

“Enjoy your walk.” They bow a little, and Chanyeol leads the way, tail wagging like a golden banner.

Kai meows and watches them leave, probably pleased to have his territory dog-free or maybe more upset that a potential admirer is leaving without giving him any attention.

Joonmyun's a little disgusted with the dirt under his nails and retreats inside to wash his hands and surrender to his papers.

There's a pattern to his neighbor's walks. They're at least once a day, usually in the morning and evening with one after lunchtime on weekends, if the weather is nice. Joonmyun doesn't get weekends off, as a professor, but many office jobs do, so maybe his handsome neighbor is an office worker. He wears a suit to wherever he works, but he may just want to look nice, even if it's a more casual environment. Colleagues at work wear the spectrum of full suits and dresses to streetwear or a T-shirt and jeans. For Joonmyun, it depends on what time he wakes up, what is clean, and what has the least amount of cat hair.

Kai's fur must be magnetic, with how it sticks to everything and any surface, but he's developed a decided love for Joonmyun's clothing, particularly if it's light-colored. Joonmyun's embraced the idea that no outfit is complete without cat fur.

When he's home, he'll make some excuse to himself to be outside when Chanyeol and Kyungsoo walk by and calls it a kindness to walk down to the sidewalk to pet the dog rather than let him choke himself in his leash and harness or pull his human off his feet.

One of the warmer, nicer days before a weekend forecast with poor weather, Joonmyun is too distracted by the unexpected appearance of his neighbor in a sleeveless shirt to catch Kai. His heart plummets; his cat is going to die. Not all dogs are okay with cats; not all cats are okay with dogs; he has no idea about his cat or his neighbor's dog. “Kai, no!” 

The cat bounds across the lawn—beautiful black arcs over the green grass, a tiny panther in a suburban jungle—Joonmyun in hot pursuit, heading straight for Chanyeol and Kyungsoo, slowing to an eager trot to bump his head against Chanyeol's legs and wind around him.

Chanyeol's tail is wagging so hard his big shakes, and even Kyungsoo looks more endeared than fearful, so Joonmyun made all that effort to save his cat just to look like a dog-stereotype-believing idiot.

“ _Kai_ ,” he says, slightly winded. “We've discussed this. You don't just run outside!” He picks up the affectionate cat, relaxing with the immediate purrs, and apologizes to Kyungsoo. “I wasn't sure how he'd be with a dog. I don't know if he's ever met one.”

“Chanyeol loves everything and everyone. The worse he'll do is drool on him, right, kitty?” Kyungsoo holds out a hand, fingertip extended, for Kai to sniff and push his cheek against. “At least he didn't go far. When Chanyeol was a puppy, he was dumber than he is, now, and actually broke through my screen door to follow a woman on her bike. Thankfully, she wasn't scared and adored dogs; she managed to hold onto him while I caught up with a leash. The idiot was flat on his back on the road, waiting for me.”

Chanyeol pants happily, hearing his name and having the hand of his human on his head. Simple pleasures.

Joonmyun can envision it clearly. “I'd've probably just ran after him like a moron. Aren't you not supposed to chase your dog if it gets out?”

“Supposedly, but some dogs are too dumb to know to come back. Playing dead doesn't always work, but I did find that while he's not the greatest at _heel_ or _roll over_ , when I would express pain, Chanyeol responded. He's very gentle when handing over toys and things, now.”

“That's good. Kai's kind of like that, too. He gets wired when we play for too long, and he has sharp claws. If I say _ow_ , he'll let go and rub his face on it, instead.”

Kyungsoo laughs. “Animals are weird. We're so lucky.” He scratches under Kai's chin. The cat's eyes close in bliss.

“We are...”

So his neighbor accepts cats as pets, not just the aesthetic, and isn't just a dog person, either. Joonmyun files this information away for potential future use, although, if he's honest and logical, where, in his not-so-abundant personal time, is opportunity for a social life?

He keeps his options open and hopes alive. Just in case. If nothing else, it'd be nice to have someone he can call a friend in his neighborhood. The others he's met are nice, but they're more his mother's age, and he isn't ready to take up bridge and bingo. He already knits and has a cat; he's on his way to textbook single cat dad status.

Joonmyun doesn't let Kai out to roam at night for a couple of nights because of the rain. Heavy rain is forecast all weekend, but no storms. While he may love water and sleeping in the bathroom sink, Kai hates storms and hides beneath the bathroom cabinet. He spends the wet weather nights with Joonmyun, curled on the pillow Joonmyun starts out on but burrows beneath. The light bedsheets take on seemingly permanent discoloration from dark fur that doesn't come off in the wash. 

Kai's collar and tag arrive in the mail, and the cat spends a few solid minutes trying to look at what is hanging from his neck without much luck and ends up giving up and just accepting them as a part of himself until the tag knocks against the lip of his water dish. Joonmyun detaches the spooked cat from his pantleg and assures him it's okay.

Their routine returns to normal, with Kai venturing outside to explore or maim or pillage or whatever it is he does at night, and Joonmyun tries to clean up cat fur and kitty litter or manage some of his papers before giving up and going to bed.

A storm travels farther south than predicted one night, but Kai doesn't come home. Joonmyun wonders if he should look for the cat, but he has no idea where to even begin.

He eats his dinner with anxious glances to the clocks and windows, expecting a wet and miserable shadow to demand to be let inside.

But it doesn't.

Joonmyun sits at his desk, pen in hand, imagining all the horrible things that could be happening to his cat, when his phone buzzes with a text from an unknown number.

“This is Kyungsoo, from across the street.  
With the weather as it is, I thought you'd like to know your cat is safe and dry.”

An attachment is sent, and Joonmyun laughs.

Chanyeol the Golden Retriever is sprawled out across his large dog bed, fast asleep, with Kai curled up right next to him, nose under a silky blond ear.

Joonmyun texts back a quick thanks and offers to pick Kai up, but Kyungsoo says it can wait until morning. “We're both used to him by now.”

Joonmyun sets his phone aside. “So that's where he's been going at night.” If nothing else, it gives him greater reason to talk to his neighbor more.

**Author's Note:**

> This didn't turn out how I'd wanted, unfortunately, but I still see potential in it, and I am very much in love with the prompt. Kai the cat having sleepovers with Chanyeol the dog, maybe at Joonmyun's house, once the humans get over their weird human boundaries and stiffness and just sleep together.


End file.
